An Architect Of War

July 22, 2008 13:08 GMT

1Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic (left) whispers to Radovan Karadzic during a press conference in 1993 - Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic has been arrested near Belgrade after evading capture for 11 years. Along with Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic, who is still at large, Karadzic is considered the architect of the worst atrocities in Europe since World War II.

2Two residents of Sarajevo walk past a destroyed building on Marshal Tito Avenue in June 1992 - The UN's International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has charged Karadzic with being responsible for his army's shelling of parts of Sarajevo and attacks on civilians during a 43-month siege of the city, during which thousands were killed or wounded.

3Bosnian Muslim women mourn during a funeral for 465 people slain in Srebrenica by Bosnian Serb troops - But Karadzic's most devastating legacy by far is the slaughter of nearly 8,000 unarmed Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, eastern Bosnia, in 1995. The UN tribunal has charged Karadzic with genocide for the Srebrenica massacre, carried out by Bosnian Serb troops under his authority who overran a UN-protected Muslim enclave.

4A Muslim refugee from Srebrenica takes part in a demonstration near Sarajevo - Thousands of Muslim refugees were driven from their homes in the wake of the Srebenica massacre. Today, efforts continue to identify and rebury the dead, and relatives of the Srebrenica dead continue to revisit the trauma every year at a ceremony on July 11, when all newly identified remains are buried near the town.

5Karadzic displays a map of Bosnia's ethnic makeup at his headquarters in Pale in 1993 - During Bosnia's 1992-95 war, Karadzic sought to radicalize ethnic groups while leading Bosnian Serb forces against Bosnian Muslims and Croats who declared independence from Yugoslavia. He received support from the Yugoslav National Army under the control of Slobodan Milosevic. In 1991, Karadzic told Bosnia-Herzegovina's parliament that "Muslims will disappear from the Earth."

6Posters offer large rewards for information leading to the arrests of Karadzic and Mladic - Prosecutors at the UN's International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia long suspected that Karadzic was hiding in Serbia, and accused the authorities of lacking the political will to locate him, despite U.S. offers of cash rewards. Belgrade's failure to turn in war crimes indictees has been a main obstacle to closer ties between Serbia and European institutions.

7A German soldier of the NATO-led forces in Bosnia secures a checkpoint near the town of Pale in 2004 - NATO troops made a number of attempts over the years to snare Karadzic in the vicinity of his former stronghold of Pale, Bosnia. But it was in Belgrade that he was eventually caught, prompting speculation that Serbian leaders at last mustered the political resolve to ensure his capture.

8Bosnian Muslims celebrate at the war memorial in Sarajevo after the announcement of Karadzic's arrest - International leaders and Bosnian Muslims in particular have welcomed the news as a historic step toward achieving justice for the victims of Bosnia's 1992-95 war.

9A Kosovar Serb holds pictures of Mladic, Milosevic, and Karadzic during a 2007 protest against independence for Kosovo - But not everyone in the former Yugoslavia has welcomed the news. Some militant Serbian nationalists continue to regard Karadzic as a hero and an icon of Serbian unity, along with late Yugoslav leader Slodoban Milosevic.